34-Week Appointment

Corey and I got to see Doc again this past week for my 34-week check-up.

You all know the drill by now...
Urine sample, weigh-in (I hadn't gained any weight from last time) and blood pressure were all good, and we listened to Baby Girl's heartbeat which was beating strong in the 120s! Doc measured my belly and I have started to plateau a little, measuring only 34.5-35cm this time, but perfectly in line with Doc's expectations.

He also felt all over my belly and reiterated his finding from last time that Baby Girl is head down. He let us put our hands where his were and we could actually feel the head! He also located and let us feel her tushy-- it was much softer than the head. Let's hope she doesn't come out with too much junk in the trunk!

With all the medical stuff out of the way, we went right into Q & A.

Our main question for Doc was regarding the "big day." Having never given birth before, I'm starting to get a little nervous about how exactly everything is going to go down.

Earlier in the week, Corey and I had taken our hospital tour at St. Mary's. We saw the labor & delivery ward, the postpartum wing, nursery and amongst other things, learned all the places in the hospital where we'll be allowed to use cell phones.

It was during the tour, and particularly when we saw a very pregnant woman come thru the double-doors of the labor & delivery wing huffing and puffing, walking the halls to try and allieviate the pain of the early stages of labor, that I started to have a bit of a freak out.

"I can't believe this is really happening," I said to Corey. "Everything is happening too fast. How did 8 months go by already?! Did you see that woman? She was totally sweating and about to give birth. I'm getting scared. I don't want my privates ripped apart, but I guess it's too late for that now."

"Do you want to take more classes? You know, Annie, we haven't actually done any childbirth classes. Do you think it would make you more comfortable if we did?" Corey kindly offers.

"Absolutely not! I don't want to see that. I'd rather go in blind and hopefully I'll be so doped up on drugs that I won't have any recollection of what actually happened in the delivery room."

I don't think Corey was too thrilled with my attitude so we relayed the gist of this conversation to Doc to get his opinion. With his usual charm, he quickly calmed me down and said that all of these feelings are perfectly normal.

"There is medical staff there to help you through all of this. We're not going to admit you and then close the door and walk away until the baby pops out. We're there for you, to help you breathe, explain what's going on and to guide you through the process. I like to say that giving birth is like riding a bike. You can read all about it, watch others do it, learn the physics behind it, but until you actually get up on that bike and try to pedal, you'll never truly understand the experience. Don't worry. We're not going to let you fall."

Don't you just love this man?! With that simple response, I completely re-gained my confidence. I have to remind myself that everyday, women in every part of the world have babies. And probably most are without the quality of medical care and information that I have. Why am I worrying? I've made it this far, right? Right!

All of our other questions for Doc were minor--can I take car trips (YES but no more than a couple hours away), is sexual activity still okay (YES as long as you feel like it), are you still going on vacation (Sadly, YES, but Doc assures me he's back by the 20th of August).

We shook hands and Doc told me to keep up the good work--I'm in the home-stretch now-- and he'll see me again in 2 weeks for my first internal exam.